Studying Autism and ADHD Risks in Siblings (STAARS)

This study based at Birkbeck, University of London is looking to identify the earliest signs of autism and ADHD, allowing for the development of earlier and more effective interventions.

Participating in the study involves coming to the lab at Birkbeck in central London at three time periods: 5, 10 and 14 months into the study. The first of these visits would be from 10:30 to 13:00 over two days. The latter two would be from 10:30 to around 16:00 for one day each. All visits include regular breaks to allow your baby to rest, feed and play.

At these visits the researchers will do a number of tasks with your baby. These will include watching colourful animations that use eye-tracking technology to respond to where your baby is looking, an EEG which uses sensors to measure baby's brain activity, and various interactive games with researchers.

Further follow ups are requested when your child is two and again at three years-old to allow the team to monitor progress.

Details:

We are looking for:

Babies and their parents, who:

are under the age of 10 months old

and who have either:

an autistic parent or an autistic older sibling

a parent or older sibling with ADHD

Location:

London

East of England

East Midlands

North East & Cumbria

Northern Ireland

North West

Scotland

South East

South West

Cymru Wales

West Midlands

Yorkshire & the Humber

Expenses:

Participants will have all reasonable food and travel costs reimbursed for their visit. For those coming from further away accommodation can be arranged near to the lab in London.

Contact information:

For further information and to take part in the project, please visit the study website here.

If you have any questions please email Rebecca Holman at r.holman@bbk.ac.uk.